Special Reports

In the upper Midwest, where I live, regional airlines are pulling out of small-airport markets just as fast as the Department of Transportation will allow. In the era of $100-a-barrel oil, not even government subsidies can make some of these routes profitable. Flying regional jets (RJs) on these short hauls, often at low, fuel-guzzling altitudes, just makes the bad economics worse.

As Shanghai prepares to host the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition in March (see page 38), the bizav industry appears to be at a pivotal point in China. The private aviation age has dawned here, but it remains a somewhat foggy dawn with reduced visibility for anyone wanting to operate business aircraft in the country.

A horrific midair collision over the Amazon jungle in 2006 was just the beginning of this travel writer's troubles. Then came five years of court battles and, finally, a conviction for supposedly dishonoring the entire nation of Brazil.

Nearly a thousand subscribers responded to BJT's first annual survey on business jet travel. Read on to find out why our readers fly privately; what they like best and least about fractional, jet card and charter providers and their own jets; and what aircraft they'd pick if they could have any available model.

Although business aircraft account for just 2 percent of aviation carbon emissions and .04 percent of manmade emissions, pressure on private jet operators to mitigate the effects of their impact on the environment remains high. The Jan. 1, 2012 deadline for U.S.

Among comments we received on this subject:
“The airlines have ZERO respect for time, customer service or flexibility. The government, through TSA, has…an entirely inappropriate approach to security. Collectively, they have decimated the American people’s ability to travel effectively or efficiently.”

After the injured first officer stumbled out of the Cessna Citation that crash-landed at Birmingham [England] Airport last November, he explained to the first firefighter on the scene that the wreckage contained a donated organ, according to BBC News.

While plenty of companies used private lift in the first half of the last century, business aviation really took off after World War II, thanks to the availability of inexpensive former military aircraft and out-of-work pilots and the development of purpose-built jets like the Sabreliner and Lockheed Jetstar.

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Quote/Unquote

“[New billionaires in fast-growing countries] have to buy longer-range airplanes. If you’re flying from Mongolia to Nigeria, it’s either a three-day journey flying commercial or a nine-hour flight on your jet.”